1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to waders, and more particularly to an improved construction for waterproof breathable waders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Waders used by fishermen and hunters are well-known in the art. They essentially comprise waterproof pants that usually extend above the wearer's waist up to mid chest level and are supported and carried by the wearer by means of suspenders. The lower leg portions of the waders are typically integrally attached to a shoe or boot or sock or bootie, to form a unitized waterproof garment for the lower body portion of the wearer.
Early wader configurations were made from gas impermeable materials such as rubber. Such materials were generally heavy, making them cumbersome to use and did not provide any ventilation to the wearer, thereby causing discomfort to the wearer due to moisture accumulation within the wader. Such moisture accumulation results in a clammy feeling and can contribute to chaffing between the interior surfaces of the wader and the skin of the wearer. A further disadvantage of the materials such as rubber used in such typical commercially available waders is that such materials have a tendency to deteriorate and readily abrade.
With the commercialization of breathable film materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and hydrophilic coatings which provide for water impermeability in one direction but vapor permeability in the other, a number of lightweight waterproof yet breathable materials have been developed. Such breathable materials have become commonplace in outerwear clothing such as jackets, gloves and the like. They have also been used to construct waterproof breathable waders, such as described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,096. Such breathable wader configurations provide significant advantages in reducing the overall weight of the wader material and allow the material to breathe, providing enhanced use flexibility and increased comfort to the wearer. Such materials also enable the wader shell to be constructed of more durable and abrasion resistant materials than the previously used rubber materials.
One problem associated with the use of such light weight breathable materials is that such materials readily conduct the external water temperature to the wearer, requiring the use of some type of insulating liner within the outer wader shell to provide comfort to the wearer against cold and varying water temperatures and to provide additional structural support to the wader shell. Prior breathable wader configurations have incorporated a single standard insulative liner within the outer wader shell. Such liner has typically been bonded or laminated to the outer shell, thus providing only one level of insulation and warmth to the wearer. Such liners are typically of a weight that does not adequately insulate against frigid water temperatures, and which may provide too much insulation against warm water temperatures. In order to adapt the wader for use in waters of varying temperatures, the wearer has had to dress appropriately for the particular water temperature with which the wader is to be used, by donning insulative garments of appropriate weight.
Accordingly, there is a need for a breathable waterproof wader having a construction and configuration which allows for interchangeability of inner liners to accommodate the water temperatures with which the waders will be used. The present invention addresses this need.